Assessment of juvenile delinquency: convergent and criterion validity of the Jesness Inventory - revised - Brazilian - short form

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze evidence of convergent and concurrent criterion validity of the scales of the short form of the Jesness Inventory - Revised - Brazilian version. A sample of 597 male adolescents, aged between 12 and 20 years, participated in the study. The evidence of convergent validity obtained indicates that most scales would have maintained their interpretive meaning in the short form. They also indicated the need for further investigations on the Immaturity scale. The concurrent criterion validity suggests that high scores on the scales can differentiate adolescents based on both criteria, Judicialization and Frequency of self-reported delinquency in the last 12 months. Investment in standardized and brief instruments can drive the development of evidence-based practices in the juvenile justice system and, for this, a research agenda is presented.